Patent GB-729698-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in and relating to clothes wringers
IPC: D06F45/18
Filed: 1953-07-10
Abstract: 729,698. Wringers. GENERAL ELECTRIC CO. July 10, 1953 [Aug. 13, 1952], No. 19211/53. Class 138 (2). A clothes wringer comprises wringer rolls 4, 5, journalled in a frame 1 pivotally connected to a wringer head 8, gearing including a gear shaft 14 and a gear clutch member 16 located in the head, and through which the drive is transmitted to the rolls, a manually operable member 26 for moving the clutch member 16 from a neutral open position to a closed position, a drive clutch 43 for connecting a drive shaft 48 to the gear shaft 14, a shift member 49 connected to the drive clutch 43, means carried by the frame which, when the frame is turned relatively to the head against the action of spring means (Fig. 8, not shown), effects movement of the shift member 49 to move the drive clutch 43 to its open position, latch means 56 operated upon movement of the shift member 49 to open the drive clutch for locking the drive clutch in open position, and means actuated by movement of the manually-operable member 26 to neutral position for moving the latch means to release the drive clutch so that it returns to its closed position. The clutch 43 has upwardly extending teeth (Fig. 5, not shown) adapted to engage in recesses in a clutch collar 38 splined on the gear shaft 14. The clutch 43 has a splined connection with a shaft 40 and is movable vertically thereon by means of the shift member 49 which has an inturned finger 50 engaging in a groove in the clutch 43. The shaft 40 has a tongue and slot connection with the drive shaft 48 and is supported in a bearing sleeve 36 by a thrust collar 41 positioned in a groove in the shaft 40 and resting on a shoulder in the sleeve 36. The shift member 49 has a bowed-out central portion 55 (Fig. 2) and an upper extension 49b provided with cam surfaces 69 adapted to be engaged by side walls 68 of an arm 65 fixed to the wringer frame 1. The latch means 56 comprises a spring locking strip attached to the plate 49 and provided with an inturned locking finger 57 adapted to co-operate with a disc 23 carried by a barrel 24 on which the operating member 26 is fixed. With the clutch 43 in the closed position shown in Fig. 1 the finger 57 rides on the side surface of the disc 23. When the member 49 is moved downwardly the finger 57 snaps under the disc 23. The disc 23 has a notch 59 in its periphery and cam surfaces 60, 61 along which the finger 57 may ride. An eccentric pin 22 on the disc 23 engages in a groove 21 in the clutch member 16 which is splined on the shaft 14 and has clutch teeth adapted to engage clutch teeth on gears 12, 13. These gears 12, 13 mesh with a crown gear 10 connected to one of the rolls. The drive, neutral and reverse positions of the member 16 are indexed by spaced depressions in a cover plate 25 with which spring pressed balls 28 carried by the barrel 24 engage. Operation.-When the clutch member 16 is in neutral position the finger 57 stands in the notch 59, in the disc 23 (Fig. 7, not shown). On moving the operating member 26 in either direction from its neutral position, to engage the clutch member 16 with one or other of the gears 12, 13, the finger 57 rides up one or the other of the cam surfaces 60 or 61 to bring the end of the finger against the side face of the disc. Figs. 1 and 2 show the parts in position to effect driving of the rolls in one direction. If the wringer frame 1 be turned on its pivot 62, 63, one of the side walls 68 of the arm 65 will engage one of the cam surfaces 69, thereby forcing the shift plate down against the action of a spring 45 to open the clutch 43 as seen in Fig. 5 (not shown) and stop the drive to the folls. The locking finger 57 springs to a position under disc 23 (Figs. 4, 5, not shown), thus locking the clutch 43 down in open position. Before the wringer can be restored to normal condition, the knob 26 must be turned to bring the clutch member 16 to neutral position. When thus turned, the notch 59 in the disc 23 is brought in line with the finger 57 thus permitting spring 45 to raise the shift member 49 and close the clutch 43.